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New Stargate Movies on Stand By

Very few TV shows make it to the magical tenth season; especially those of the sci-fi genre. So, when Stargate SG-1 called it quits after their tenth season, I, along with thousands of fans worldwide, were very disappointed. We don't even have Stargate: Atlantis to whet our wormhole whistle any more - but the spin offs are hardly ever as good as the originals - notable exception is Torchwood from Doctor Who.

That's why even though Sony Picture Television and MGM decided to cancel the series after 214 episodes, they knew the sci-fi cash cow wasn't finished delivering some prime time space milk. To continue pleasing fans and to keep the franchise viable, it was announced that three full length movies would be released. Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth have already come and gone and both were fantastic extensions of the franchise. But we were suppose to get a third film and even a fourth based on the Atlantis series but alas, that may not happen anytime soon.

The reason Stargate Universe executive producer Robert C. Cooper gives for the delay is the recent downturn I the economy. In an exclusive interview with SCI FI Wire, Cooper had this to say:

"We're ready to go. We're just waiting for the right opportunity. We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don't want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now."

By "ready to go" he means the scripts for both films have been written but it could be some time before we see any movement on them. Cooper blames a recent drop in DVD sales as the major reason behind delaying both films. Cooper explains:

"Since [the release of the first two films], the economics have changed a little bit. DVDs aren't selling the same way they were when we released those even just a year, and a year and a half ago."

According to The Numbers website, Stargate: Continuumhad sold over 450,000 units as of July 29, 2008 and Stargate: The Ark of Truth did better than that with over 530,000 units sold as of March 11, 2008. Those are fairly respectable numbers for a straight-to-DVD movie from a TV show. I don't know if I totally agree with Cooper about it being the wrong economic time to produce another DVD movie. I would think fans are more apt to purchase straight to DVD movies because they haven't been on television and buying or renting it would be the only way to see it.

Either way, I'm saddened to hear we will have to wait a little longer to see SG-1 back in action, but until then, we at least have Stargate Universe to keep us entertained.

Do you agree that now is a bad time to release straight-to-DVD movies and how pumped are you for Stargate Universe?

Stargate Universe's two-hour premiere is October 2, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and on Fridays at 9 p.m. after that, all on SyFy.